Shakin' the Mango Tree

"Shaking the Mango Tree" is a term we have, here on the equator in Africa, to describe any action where one person is trying to have another person give them something. How do you get Mango's? You gotta shake the tree. You never know which tree may give up their fruit, so you are obliged to shake a few at a time.

This is precisely what my good friend and business agent, Pastor Sangoye, were doing most of the day, yesterday. Pictured here, are some of the buildings that we spent time in- climbing stairs, riding elevators, sitting in waiting rooms, meeting many very nice people.

Our objective: Receive exoneration(s) from any and every fee that might be imposed on us at the port when our shipments of aviation fuel arrives. Avid readers of this blog may recall a posting from a month or so ago ("Fueling Progress") where I outlined how importing fuel from a supplier in the US would save us over 60% in fuel costs.

Pastor Sangoye and I spent a lot of time waiting for people to arrive at their offices or, if they were there, we spent a lot of time waiting in line behind other visitors. In Gabon, it is very difficult to get a meeting with a minister; of which there are about twenty.

The process is that you normally arrive at an office and meet someone at the reception who decides if you should be there. Next, you explain your case to the receptionists' assistant who decides if you have business that is worthy of an appointment with the minister of that department. If you are fortunate, you fill out a request for a meeting and leave any of your documents attached to that request. If your visit ends like that, you have a 50-50 chance of ever getting an appointment. You typically have to revisit the receptionist's assistant once or twice to press your request through. If your request gets through, you will most likely get an appointment to talk with the administrative assistant of the assistant minister, where you must make a new appeal for a meeting with the assistant minister to appeal to have a meeting with the actual minister. Typically, an actual meeting with the minister does not happen- the assistant minister will take action... hopefully in your favor!

The best way to get "mangoes to fall" is to have contacts behind the scenes in each ministers office. These are the folks that make the wheels of progress really move. We are blessed that Pasteur Sangoye has many of those contacts. He is a true professional!

We were able to ask for appointments with the following ministers:
- Minster of Health, Social Work, Solidarity, and the Family (2 offices)
- Minister of Mines, Oil, and Hydrocarbons
- Minister of Energy and Oil Resources

Pray with us that we receive the exonerations and are able to, one day, have the provisions to import fuel.